I Had a Teacher Who Read to Us

A few friends and I got together for dinner one evening and the conversation turned towards teaching. We all agreed that a teacher probably has the greatest influence on a child, other than a parent. We never realize how our words or actions can impact a child. My adult daughters think that I am such a nerd because I can remember (almost) every teacher's name back to elementary school. I was a military brat and changed schools frequently, attending at least a dozen schools before I graduated from high school.

 A few of my favorite teachers that I remember were:

 Ms. Prince, my fifth grade teacher, who gave me enough confidence to try out for the Christmas play. I was the new kid in class.

Mr. Croce, a short, balding, Italian man who instilled music appreciation in his Junior High students by playing classical records and Opera for us while we diagrammed sentences.

Ms. Gierl, our 7th grade teacher, who favored costume jewelry and bright colors, and loved English.

Mr. Standridge, my 9th grade English teacher, who encouraged my love of Writing (Composition) and Poetry.

Ms. Scholten, my 10th grade History teacher, who took us on field trips to France and England, and made History alive and interesting.

And then there was Ms. Hyde, my 6th grade teacher. We were living in Landstuhl, Germany at the time. She was a new DOD (Dept. of Defense) teacher and had just arrived in Germany. Ms. Hyde didn't smile much, probably because we had a few misfits in class. But every day, after lunch, she opened a book and read to us. She introduced us to the one and only literary spider, Charlotte, and Wilbur, the pig, from "Charlotte's Web," She took us on an imaginary journey with "A Wrinkle in Time," and kept us from falling asleep in class while reading chapters from the  "Island of the Blue Dolphins."

I went by our local library on Tuesday evening, and there on display in the Children's sections were the Newberry winners, "A Wrinkle in Time" and "Island of the Blue Dolphins."

Happy Reading!

Thankful

I am thankful for so many things that I am sure I will leave something off of this list.

I am thankful for my family...
for a son-in-law who works hard to provide for his family and serves our community as a law enforcement officer.....
 I am thankful for my two daughters that I am very proud of and that I consider my best friends....
 I am thankful for the beautiful grandchildren they have blessed me with and the joy they bring to my life....
I am thankful for a job, with a retirement plan and good health insurance, when I know there are so many people unemployed and less fortunate than I am....
I am thankful to have a good relationship with my sisters and though we have our differences, always make up...
I am thankful for many friends who keep in touch with me to let me know they care...
.I am thankful for my cat, who keeps me company, curled up on my lap at night.....
I am thankful that the mail still runs every day (except Sunday)....
.I am thankful that I have a good boss and great co-workers that makes it so easy to go to work each day....
.I am thankful that I can worship God openly and for his daily blessings......
I am thankful for Thanksgiving and Christmas, my two favorite holidays of the year....
I am thankful for the mild temperatures that have kept my utility bills down....
I am thankful for libraries....for the written word.....newspapers and the Internet, and Amazon.com....
.I am thankful for afternoon naps, flannel robes and slipper socks, and hot cocoa, for cold nights....
I am thankful for Hallmark movies, all Charlie Brown re-runs and Christmas songs on the radio, even before Thanksgiving...
I am thankful that I have one pair of boots that I can wear....
I am thankful for the spirit of Christmas, wishing it would last a little bit longer...
I am thankful that the elections are over....
I am thankful that my mother-in-law celebrated her 90th birthday...
I am thankful that a friend finished her radiation treatments...
I am thankful for this blog, where I have met some incredibly nice people.

October Days

Every Fall a local, historical (almost 200 years old) cemetary

hosts a "Cemetary Stroll"

and features local people dressed in period clothing

who portray the famous and not-so-famous that are buried here.

For example, I didn't know that one of Samuel Clemons' cousins,

Jeremiah Clemons, is buried here, and that he also wrote novels.

.This year there were almost 70 people that were "risen from the grave", so to speak.

This little event used to be a well-kept secret, but not anymore.

There were literally hundreds of people visiting the cemetary

on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon, each following their paper guide.

One actress portrayed Talullah Bankhead, a native-born Alabamian,

whose father was in politics.

Her mother died when Talullah was an infant and is buried here.

There were many Civil War soldiers and widows who retold their stories,

along with many prominent men and women, such as the famous madam

who donated her land to the hospital.

Then, there was the Southern belle who ordered her bridal gown from Paris

and was taking a special powder to whiten her skin. Only her illiterate maid gave her

boric acid by mistake. She became ill and called for her doctor.

When he discovered what had happened there was nothing he could do.

Still, the young couple married, she sick and dying and lying in her bed. 

When the young bride died a few weeks later, she was buried in her exquisite bridal gown

shipped all the way from Paris, France.

The last story we heard was from a famous widow well-known in my neck of the woods.

She had been married six times before the Civil War. Her first marriage lasted almost 20 years

when her husband passed away. The second one lasted six months and each husband

subsequently succumbed to some mysterious or short-lived illness. Now, this

is quite possible, seeing that this was the early 1800's, and being a strong, Southern woman,

known for her beauty (historical accounts claim that she was a beautiful woman)

she may have been smart and opportunistic.Remember Scarlett O'Hara?

Rumor has it that she had a hat rack in her foyer with a hat from

each of her husbands hanging on it.  At age 60, the beautiful widow moved to

Mississippi, after a trial involving slander and a feud with a local farmer.

 Coincidentally, the ancestors of that farmer still own that land

and now have a popular Pumpkin Patch in the Fall. See pictures below.

Oh! Another reason the widow moved away...the local Baptist preacher refused to marry her again.

I love these stories!

I never knew there were so many varieties of pumpkins. I didn't take pictures of all of them,

but I saw at least a dozen varieties.

Beautiful Mums

Baby granddaughter #3

Hope you are enjoying Fall as much as I am.

Blessings,

Anita

Fall Tidbits & More

One thing I love about Fall are the county fairs and street festivals

that abound at this time of year. There's something for everyone:

pony rides and fun activities for the children;

arts and crafts for the adults;

food and gorgeous weather for everyone.

What better place to hold a street festival except near the railroad tracks?

Believe me, that was the longest train ever!

Fall also means that I have to stock up on butter because I do more baking.

 This is "Walnut Pear Sour Cream Cake"

 found in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

 It's perfect with a cup of tea.

I love a bargain and found this bag for $3.99 in a thrift store.

 It looked like Fall to me.

After a long day at the street festival there's nothing like dining out and learning

how to color in the lines.

The Front Porch

I love my front porch. When we bought the house it didn't have a railing, so my husband and I built one. We did a pretty good job, considering that neither one of us had carpentry skills. That railing has lasted almost 20 years.

The porch has had its moments through the years.

I would sit on the porch when the children were little and watch the yellow school bus come around the corner and drop them off at the end of the driveway.

I would drink my morning coffee on the front porch on a nice day and read the newspaper while listening to the birds sing.

I would bring a book out on the front porch to read when I needed a quiet moment.

The front porch served as a "Smoking Room" for my friends and relatives who smoked.

The front porch was a good place to have a chat with a friend or neighbor who stopped by.

Now, the grandchildren draw all over the porch with their chalk. I let them draw all over the driveway, too.

I was off today, so I scrubbed the front porch. I poured a bucket of sudsy water, equipped myself with cleaning rags and put on my rubber gloves. First, I cleaned the windows and then wiped down the railing and porch furniture. At last, I turned on the hose at full-blast and sprayed away the winter's dust and dirt.

There is nothing like a clean, front porch.

Memories In Black and White

I only have a few photos of my German relatives. The photo of my grandparents wedding is the only photo I have of my grandfather. He died when my mother was nine years old, in East Germany. They had been separated after the war and my grandmother and nine children became refugees, travelling by train from Czechoslovakia to West Germany after the war ended. I know very little about my grandparents, Karl and Anna, so I cherish the few photos that I have.

The next picture was taken of my Aunt Marianne's church wedding in the 1950's, when she married an American airman. My aunt was beautiful and reminded us of a movie star when she came to visit us in her convertible, with a silk scarf wrapped around her blonde hair. She was also my godmother. Sadly, we lost her at the young age of 37.

The last picture was actually an old, old black and white postcard that I had enlarged. It is the Cinderella castle, or Neuschwanstein, home of King Ludwig. No, he wasn't a relative, but I loved the picture of the castle!

Trees of Christmases Past

This was our Christmas tree from 1980. We were living in Germany. My oldest was seven months old, so this was her very first Christmas. We only had one car at the time, so I was a real stay-at-home Mom. I learned how to sew and crochet and made these homemade ornaments just in time for Christmas. I missed my family, but we made some good friends in our apartment building.

This was Christmas 1986. My youngest daughter (pictured here) was four years old. Our living room was warm and cozy, and I especially loved the stone fireplace in our little rental house.

We had moved into our new house by the time this picture was taken in the late 1980's. I was in a country decorating phase. Notice the ruffled curtains in the background. Even if I don't write on the back of my photos I can identify the time period by the decor.

I think that this one was taken the following year (same curtains).

My Victorian Christmas tree.

Christmas at my mother's house. Our family always got together on Christmas Eve. She would make her famous Potato Salad and Bratwurst, along with assorted cold cuts and rye bread. There was always a Stollen, a traditional German bread, and of course, Christmas cookies.

Christmas, 2005

I paid $5.00 for this little tree on clearance the year before.

An old-fashioned Christmas tree, 2009.  

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

A family of scarecrows and a row of pumpkins greeted us.

We spent part of today at a Pumpkin Patch nearby in Tennessee. It's a real working farm with lots of things for the children to do.Last, but not least, is a ride on a tractor to pick out your very own pumpkin. With two small children and three pumpkins to carry back, my daughter and I had our hands full! The Petting Zoo was very popular with the children.

One of the goats in the Petting Zoo.



My grandson trying to feed the mules.

The piglets captured everyone's hearts!

"Which one should I choose, Grandma?"



Sunday at the Park

I spent Sunday with my grandchildren. We ate a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

We took the kids to the local state park, where they played on the neat playground. They wouldn't be still long enough to get any good pictures.

They did like playing in the dirt...

And taking a short hike with their 'walking sticks.'

Here's another scenic view...

And one more.

After our visit to the park, we stopped at Earth Fare, a gourmet grocery store with lots of organic foods, and I couldn't resist the deserts, so I bought a sampling.  I just ate a bite of each, honestly!

The kids still had energy left over to jump on the trampoline. Whew! I was tired.